I missed this story, just saw it while flipping channels on The Military Channel (one of Discovery’s spinoffs). In 2002, the Hawaiian Undersea Research Lab went looking for something, something that previous magentic anomaly searches showed promise. This is what they found.

I heard a radio commercial for a new acid reflux medicine, and it got me to thinking about who in the hell comes up with product names, and how much are they getting paid? There has got to be some marketing firm in Manhattan, laughing their acifphex-s off all the way to the bank.

While looking around for more bad brand names, I came across this article at Bspcn.com: The 50 Best Pun Stores. Some are pretty clever, some not so much. If nothing else, it will keep The Hostages in blog header pictures for a few days.

Hot Air linked to a Politico article, where “presidential scholars” are belittling Sarah Palin’s qualifications:

Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.

That’s a nasty little soundbite, even with the qualifier “appears to be” included. But just for chuckles, let’s have a look at the sources* they consulted to arrive at that indeterminate, but damning, conclusion:

Joel Goldstein: former National Vice President and regional President of the American Jewish Congress

Matthew Dallek: former speechwriter for Dick Gephart

David Kennedy: “I’m a very active Democrat . . . I’ve been a delegate to the national convention. I’ve actively supported several presidential candidacies.”

I take full responsibility; I was unprepared for OSU’s first game of the college football season. I am man enough to admit that I did not lay on the necessary supplies. When Mrs. Pupster offered to go to the grocery store before the game started, I asked her to pick me up ‘some beer’. Mrs. Pupster very rarely has a beer with me, but when she said “a beer sounds good, what kind should I get?” I let her pick whatever she wanted. *SIGH*

According to Miami radio station 790 The Ticket, which is in Johnson’s hometown, the receiver has legally changed his last name to “Ocho Cinco.” Johnson’s — sorry — Ocho Cinco’s reported name change has been rumored in NFL circles for weeks, and according to the station today, it’s official.

Johnson forewarned the public that a major surprise was coming during a recent interview with Chris McKendry on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“A lot of people look at Chad Johnson and say he’s crazy and he does a lot of stuff, but I don’t think people really understand how smart I really am,” Johnson said. “So come Sept. 7, I believe when we play the Baltimore Ravens, I think that’s the game, there’s a surprise for everybody — for everybody. When I say something, it is what it is, just enjoy it. Because it’s going to last 16 weeks, plus some more.”

Could this be it? If the report is correct he should be able to wear his nickname on the back of his jersey without penalty, which he’s wanted to do for quite some time.

The media also would have to refer to him as Chad Ocho Cinco from this point on.

However, wacky names are no longer solely the providence of hippies, celebrities and the generally coke-addled, because you – yes you, generically named reader – get to pick an amusing sounding but totally nonsensical appellation. For life!

Our next Vice President is a Spudder! Who’d a thunk? I know she lives in Alaska now but we all know that you can take the girl outta the potato patch but you can’t take the potato patch outta the girl.

Business at another club, the Diamond Cabaret, has remained steady, employees said, despite several road closures due to protests that shut off the club’s valet parking.

Horning said exotic dancers from across the country, expecting large crowds because of the Democratic National Convention, contacted La Boheme in the past several weeks hoping to dance this week. Management turned them down, however, opting to let the club’s more tenured dancers take the stage.

Dancers and servers at the club are still hoping visiting Democrats will drop some cash at La Boheme, though.

Further proof that Democrats are good at spending other peoples’ money and not their own.

The Bureau of Land Management has a problem. Herds of wild horses and burros can damage the environment from over-grazing, and need to be thinned. So they capture some, and try to get people to adopt them, in order to avoid culling the herds.

Sarah, age 14, is one person who is up to the challenge.

LEWISVILLE – Petra, on first sight, was a decided mismatch for your average horse-crazed teenage girl.

The tough little mustang was dirty, angry, homesick and slightly prone to bite. The owner of the stable where she was taken to board was dubious.

But Sarah, at 14, is far past the dreamy “my little pony” stage of adolescent horse crushes. She had already adopted, tamed and trained two other wild mustangs, and was certain she could do the same with Petra.

I met a wonderful man in Miami: “The Battling Bellman” and all-around good guy Levi Forte.

Levi is a retired heavyweight boxer who in 1969 went ten rounds with an in-his-prime George Foreman and lost by only one point. He has also been a bellman at the Fontainebleau Hotel for 44 years. So of course, I pestered him to tell me about himself.

At the end of the 1969 fight against Foreman, when the decision was not yet announced, Foreman muttered to Forte “I’m never fighting you again”. And he didn’t. But Levi Forte later gave some advice to Mohammad Ali before The Rumble in the Jungle: “He doesn’t have stamina, keep him punching and he’ll get tired”. Ali replied, “Heh, I’ll keep on the rope… and he’ll be the dope”.

Forte attended the Rumble in the Jungle and at one point during the fight, Ali looked at him and said “Now?”. Levi nodded and Ali kicked it in and knocked Foreman out.

Levi’s wife is writing a book on his years at the famous hotel and I asked him for a little celebrity dirt: Bob Hope was the cheapest celebrity he ever encountered. Bob and Levi had a ten dollar bet on a fight and Bob wouldn’t pay up until the hotel owner shamed him into it.

This is one of the reasons I love to travel — you meet such fascinating and wonderful people.

Kevlarchick occasionally refers to me as a “suit”. Which I am. As is Michael and a couple of you other lugs too, but when she calls me a “suit” she’s complimenting me, and when she calls you a “suit” she really means “asshole”.

I’m pretty sure that’s what she means.

Anyway, it’s Thursday afternoon and I feel like shit and I can’t sleep so I decided to post about one of my occasional forms of business wear, a dress shirt with French cuffs. I like them cause you get to style a little with your cufflinks. Normally the tie is the only thing in your “flashy” arsenal, so a little bling is fun, and it intimidates the hell out of the rest of the staff.

Here’s some of my favs:

The pair on the left is just a little color, and the ones on the right have that nautical theme goin.

I ran across the moveon Obama themed art contest and found it interesting. I know Michael and Cathy have a new house that needs decorating, so maybe this will help out. This was one of the winners and I think it’s pretty good.